Sondrio grinned and pretended to focus on his breakfast. “Persephone, you don’t strike me as the type of woman who’d tolerate a dictator.”
“No, but I am a doctor as you know. I’ve got little tolerance for unnecessary bloodshed, so if abiding by your cousin’s...wishes keeps your blood off the floor, so be it.”
Yelps of laughter followed the statement. “Damn I like her, Liam!” One of the older men at the table bellowed.
“Thanks Uncle Tori,” Hill spoke to one of his grandfather’s younger brothers around a mouthful of steak.
“We’ll talk later today Persephone,” Sondrio was saying as he stood.
“Looking forward to it,” She called.
“Anybody wanna bet on how long it takes before Liam relieves his cousin of his teeth?” Someone wagered once Sondrio had taken his plate and skulked away from the table.
“Say, Persephone, what kind of doctor are you, Sweetheart?” Another of the older men was asking.
“It’s uh-related to relaxation,” Persephone added once she’d summarized her specialty.
“Ah...you’re in the right profession I see.” Mica Tesano, Liam Tesano’s youngest brother noted with a sly grin. “I would think putting a man at ease would be a piece of cake for a dish like you.”
With her practiced smile back in place,
Persephone slid a look to Hill and found him regarding his steak
knife a little too intently.
***
Sambava, Madagascar~
“Uh...oui! Oui Mademoiselle uh...shit-un uh un momento, crap! Jim?! I need you!” Rose Waddell, Black Island’s Scheduling Co-Director checked to make sure the phone was on mute before she hissed out another curse and craned her neck in search of her partner. “Jim!”
James Thurman arrived in the big corner office at a sprint. “Alright, already, what? Shit!” Jim shook one hand when his rush to the office resulted in hot coffee sloshing onto his skin.
“This sounds important and I don’t speak French.” Rose was already tugging off her headset and offering it to Jim like a fussy child she didn’t want to be responsible for.
“Well who is it?” Jim eyed the headset with wary disdain.
“Well fuck, Jim!” Rose threw up her hands and let the headset clatter to her thighs when she lowered them. “If I knew that, I guess I’d be speakin’ French, wouldn’t I?”
Jim grunted another curse for form, while snatching the headset as he claimed the seat Rose had vacated.
“Man? Woman?” He asked. “Rose?!”
“Shit-woman, woman-hurry up, she sounds important.”
“Hell...why’s it always on my shift?” Jim took a deep breath and switched the call off mute.
“Mademoiselle? Mademoi-Oui! Oui je vous uh...je vous remercie pour la...tenue...Oui, oui, merci…”
While Jim thanked the caller for holding, Rose stood with her hands clasped at her chest. She worried the beaded necklace half hidden in her shirt while watching Jim. His deeply tanned face; tight at first with confusion, changed over to disbelief.
“What? What’s she saying?” Rose performed the frantic dance of impatience when Jim finished the call and played back its recording.
“They um...they’re sending transport- they need kids for the place in Nice. They’re already in route- should be here by morning.” Jim explained.
“My God...wait-Nice?” Rose’s moves slowed. “But I thought we scrapped the place in Nice?”
“Well it looks like it’s being revived.”
“Well what for?”
“Whatever it is, it’s big and secret. Some big to-do for the top folks.”
“You mean-”
“The top folks. Which means, keep our damn mouths shut, wake up the staff and get the kids ready to go.”
“Right.” Rose’s nod was curt. “Right. Okay, so um, how many kids?”
The disbelief returned to Jim’s eyes. “All
of them.”
***
The rest of the day had been blessedly uneventful. Persephone never had the chance to finish or rather start her conversation with Sondrio, which was probably a good thing. Hill’s mood had grown progressively rigid as the day lengthened.
His insistence that she stay close, had not
been the best idea since it put him within earshot of every lurid
remark thrown her way. Her idea for him to hold onto her when he
felt temper stir, only managed to stir the need that neither of
them could free themselves of.
~~~
“Just a sec!” Persephone was still getting ready when the knock landed on her room door. Towel-clad, she speed walked past the bed where a capped-sleeved sheath dress of striking ice blue waited to be worn for that night’s dinner.
“Yes?”
